The Vermont House on Thursday gave its approval to a bill that allows safe injection sites to operate in the state.
Safe injection sites are spaces where individuals can use drugs under medical supervision, and where overdose reversing medication is available.
Winooski Representative Taylor Small, a Progressive/Democrat, said the bill is a response to the growing number of opioid-related deaths in Vermont. There were more than 240 deaths in 2022, a record in Vermont for the third straight year.
"We have been in an overdose death crisis for too long and in a year when public safety seems to be at the forefront our our priorities, it is clear that we need to expand our approach to address this crisis," Small said.
But Rutland City Representative Eric Maguire opposed the bill.
"I am for continued innovative harm reduction models, but I go off of the evidence, and the evidence has not been validated in the United States," Maguire said.
The measure now goes to the Senate. If it passes, it faces the strong opposition of Governor Phil Scott.
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